Home Is Where You Park It!: January 22

Three days of birding tours to Bahia Grande this last weekend. We had a full van on Saturday and Monday, with only three visitors on Sunday morning. Managed 32 to 35 species each day, snagging the Aplomado Falcon 2 days out of 3, too.

Saturday morning was picture perfect, no wind and mild temperature...

The bay was a mirror, my picture doesn't do it justice at all. This was the best shot of 6 that I tried.

Both Sunday and Monday started with dense fog on the drive over. Sunday was strange, the fog would lift for a few miles and then we would be totally socked in again for a bit. Monday, the fog had burned off completely by the time we arrived at the red gate to enter the refuge.

We flushed this hungry Merlin, but she never relinquished the mouse she had snagged and she stayed put long enough for a few quick pics through the windshield.

Amazing coincidence... 4 college students in 2 days, 2 December graduates of UT. Three of them were ecology majors. I felt some added pressure to make sure I had all my facts straight during the interpretation.

We birded the area today, opting to visit the World Birding Centers in Harlingen.

Starting at Harlingen Thicket, we were terribly disappointed in the failure to match the World Birding Center expectation. I wouldn't list this place on the website if I were in charge.

The only structure other than the restrooms was nothing more than a skeleton. The trails were rundown and the signs were faded, bent, and broken. The Arroyo Colorado was barely a clogged ditch. Not at all as advertised.

The only positive aspect was the diversity of plants...

I was able to get up close and personal with this fascinating succulent/cactus/agave/milkweed. I photographed this plant from Highway 100 last year, but was never able to get a close-up or to ID it.

This tangle covered the complete hillside.

Our next stop was Hugh Ramsey Nature Park, also a part of the World Birding Center. Much more to our liking. Rio Grande Valley Master Naturalists seem to have adopted this park and it was well maintained. A few Eagle Scout projects had also been completed on this property. Many of the "garden" areas were memorial areas as well. Numerous water features were spaced along the Ebony Loop with benches and blinds well placed for leisurely strolling through the vegetation. A well maintained feeding station had Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Curve-billed Thrasher, Orange-crowned Warbler, Black-crested Titmouse, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. We snagged Verdin, Altamira Oriole, and Kiskadee farther along the trail.

One spot that touched me was the Circle of Peace